By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- While the lights were turned out in the empty United Nations Secretariat building for “Earth Hour” on the night of March 26, office and entrance lights were blazing in the nearby buildings where the UN's work is actually done these days.
During its multi-year Capital Master Plan renovation, the UN has leased office space a block away on 42nd Street and Second Avenue, dubbed the “Luggage Building” or “Above the Liquor Store” for two of the ground floor co-tenants, the Albano Building on 46th Street between First and Second Avenues and elsewhere.
Between 9 and 9:30 pm on March 26, high Earth Hour while even New York's Times Square was largely dimmed, the Albano Building was lit up as on any other night. More visibly, out on a much traveled corner of 42nd Street, the UN's Luggage Building had many of its lights on.
The same was true at the UN's “FF Building” on 45th Street, and at 1, 2 and 3 UN Plaza on 44th Street, headquarters to, among others, UNICEF and the UN Development Program.
This is by no means the only way in which the UN under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has failed to follow through on the Ban's loudly stated environmental claims, UN staff tells Inner City Press often on condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation.
Earlier this month after being approached by numerous whistleblowers, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky for a response to staff complaints that while the garbage in the UN's Luggage Building is separated for recycling, eventually it is all mixed back together and not recycled.
Inner City Press: this may seem like a small thing, but the, the several UN staff members that work in what is called the Luggage Building, or whatever it is now being called on 42nd and Second have said that they have concluded after speaking to the Green Focal Point, etcetera, that there is no recycling in the building; that they put the recycling, that they are asked by the UN to put them in separate blue containers and that ultimately everything is put together and dumped. And they have said that they have raised this and have been told that the UN can’t do anything about it. I wonder, I mean, am not expecting you may be to respond from the podium, but they are pretty, they see it as sort of hypocrisy, and I just wonder, maybe, may you or whoever responds to these things can find out if that is the case and if so why it is acceptable?
Spokesperson: Well, let me look into that. I think it is in everybody’s interest to ensure that the recycling is available. Yeah.
Inner City Press: [inaudible] sort of making it appear that it was [inaudible].
Spokesperson Nesirky: As I said, as I said, I would need to look into it to find out what is behind this, if anything, and secondly, the main principle here is that recycling is obviously in everybody’s interest. Right, other questions? then I’ll come back to you, Matthew.
Inner City Press: Okay.
But more than a week later, Nesirky has yet to provide any response or information. The same stonewalling has been applied to higher profile issues like Ban's envoy to Libya Abdul Ilah Al Khatib being allowed to violate longstanding UN rules and the UN Charter by receiving pay from Jordan's government while ostensibly serving the UN.
A fish rots from the head: and then doesn't get recycled, in today's UN. Watch this site.